One of the many trends seen since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a boom in entertainment consumption. The programs that people wanted to check out were consumed successfully and the list of must-see movies continues to shrink every day. One program in particular that impressed many was Ted Lasso, the story of a college football coach who became a Premier League manager.
The program is originally based on a character by Jason Sudeikis from NBC Sports commercials that aired at the time NBC acquired the rights to broadcast Premier League games. What these commercials did not convey, however, are the complex emotions that Ted Lasso (played by Sudeikis) is dealing with moving abroad, a radical career transition and a painful divorce.
Perhaps it is this final note that made the character particularly moving for Sudeikis, who recently split from actress Olivia Wilde. So, in a way, it makes sense that on the eve of the Golden Globe, where Sudeikis received the award for Best Actor in a Musical Series or TV Comedy, he was wearing a tie-dye sweatshirt while stumbling over an acceptance speech. Speculating about someone else’s mental health seems unwise, but seeing Sudeikis on a screen alongside other nominees who wore varying degrees of black tie attire was a stark reminder that the quarantine (and the painful Zoom calls that followed become a regular part of our reality) began to affect many.
As we enter the second year of COVID, the statistics are already revealing. According Kaiser Family Foundation, 4 out of 10 adults (and 56% of young adults) reported symptoms of anxiety or depression (from 1 on January 10, 2019). In addition, 13% of adults reported using new or increased substances due to pandemic-related stress, and 11% of adults reported suicidal thoughts in the first month of 2021.
According CDC, “The prevalence of anxiety disorder symptoms was approximately three times those reported in the second quarter of 2019 (25.5% versus 8.1%), and the prevalence of depressive disorder was approximately four times that reported in the second quarter of 2019. 2019 (24.3% versus 6.5%). “
Of course, as you may have guessed, the most vulnerable and underprivileged members of society are usually the hardest hit. Young adults are almost twice as likely to report substance abuse and suicidal thoughts. Women with children who are at home due to school closings are more likely to report symptoms of anxiety than men. And communities of color, who already face challenges in accessing mental health care, are more likely to report symptoms of depressive disorder than white adults.
Studies warn that, as the pandemic persists, public health measures will continue to expose people to situations related to mental health problems, such as isolation and job losses. This is a reminder that the vaccine simply cannot be distributed quickly enough. However, as frontline workers continue to work around the clock to deliver the right vaccines to the right people, there is a sense that something else is waiting on the horizon.
The vaccine can indeed mark the “end” of a pandemic and the “beginning” of another. Thinking about Ted Lasso, viewers must now recognize that a lot more was going on behind the scenes than they originally thought. Jason Sudeikis was playing a heartbroken but cheerful character, while experiencing his own personal challenges by appearing to work every day as a comedy actor.
Much more is happening below the surface of COVID-19 than we can fully perceive or understand, which is admittedly a little scary. This pandemic was bad enough, there is no need to add another layer. But if the human ingenuity that made the vaccine available in such a short period of time is a reminder of something, it is that the challenges often bring out the best in humanity.
In that sense, perhaps Ted Lasso, and the man who plays him, are a reminder that optimism in the face of challenge is neither foolish nor naive – it is actually the only way to live.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author himself and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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